The annual Frankfurt Book Fair is a global jamboree of self-expression. The world’s authors and publishers arrive with poetry, fiction, science and business texts that map to the remarkable range of human talent.
In 2016, Book Fair organizers recognize that the book world rests on a foundation of free speech. In a world where the liberty to speak one’s mind is not always and everywhere secure, the Frankfurt Book Fair has made itself a refuge.
“In a talk at the 2016 Frankfurt Book Fair, International Publishers Association president Richard Charkin, who is executive director for Bloomsbury, said the situation in Turkey is of grave concern, and that the international publishing community stands in solidarity with Turkish publishers,” Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer, tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.
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Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.
So pleased to have confirmation that freedom of speech is preserved at the annual Frankfurt Book Fair. It’s something we writers must continue to fight for, in a world that’s become badly polluted by distorted and grossly exaggerated accusations of ‘inappropriate political correctness’.